Well, in the Italian Senate, anyway, where he got an absolute majority. In the Chamber of Deputies he defeated a no-confidence measure, brought by his own “allies” led by House Speaker Gianfranco Fini, by 3 votes. There’s lots of maneuvering still to come, including an effort (unlikely to succeed) to broaden his coalition, but the big news–and it’s very big news–is that he’s once again demonstrated that he can’t be beaten. There’s a lot of gnashing teeth tonight, and not just in Rome, where hundreds of protesters torched the neighborhood around Piazza del Popolo, where Federico Fellini lived in the seventies. Teeth are grinding in London, where the British press, led by the Financial Times, was salivating at the happy thought of Berlusconi’s downfall. Why? I think it’s because the Brits are congenitally jealous of Italy and Italians, who, the Brits think, are too handsome, too sexy, and have altogether too much fun, and Berlusconi has more fun than anyone. Intolerable!

Berlusconi’s opponents must be furious that the prime minister’s victory was largely due to female deputies who switched sides to vote for him. One is Catia Polidori, described in the Corriere della Sera as “Umbrian and very blonde” (and they say that Berlusconi is the sexist!). The other key deputy is Maria Grazia Siliquini, a lawyer from Turin who is in her fifth term in Parliament. This will be particularly hard to swallow, both for Fini’s people and for the Left, who had convinced themselves and many others that women hate Berlusconi. Another happy thought bites the dust…

One of my favorite political analysts, Stefano Folli of il Sole 24 Ore (the Italian version of the Wall Street Journal) thinks it likely that there will be new elections announced in a month or two, and he’s usually right. But if that happens, it will be because of Berlusconi’s wishes, not those of his opponents. It’s virtually impossible to identify any national leader capable of beating him, especially at a moment when the country has to deal with some very serious economic and social problems. Including the rioters in the streets of the capital.

I have never been a big fan of Berlusconi–or, for that matter, any European leader these days–but he’s certainly distinguished himself in many areas. I think he’s the only one of the lot (with the possible exception of Sarkozy) to say that the West must support the Iranian opposition. He’s been an outspoken defender of Israeli security and legitimacy. At the time of 9/11, he remarked at a press conference that “our civilization is superior to theirs; just look at the way they treat women.” You can easily imagine the outrage from the politically correct crowd, but he was right. Good friends of mine are angry because of Berlusconi’s active friendship with Vladimir Putin, but it’s both logical and remunerative for Italy. Some might even call it good statesmanship.

There is hardly a crime of which he has not been accused, but so far without penal effect. He’s often charged with press manipulation (he created a vast media empire (Mediaset), including the first private tv network in Italian history, and one of the country’s biggest publishing houses, Mondadori). But in fact he’s done precisely the opposite. Before Berlusconi, broadcasting was a state monopoly; he introduced a bit of competition into the mix. Forgive me if I like that. If it were up to me, I’d insist that all media were private, because I have never understood people who think it’s a good idea for the state to print or broadcast “news.” In the old days, Italy’s radio and tv stations were in the hands of the political parties, and you could choose your bias. I used to ask that system’s apologists, “if the government published a newspaper called The State, would you read it?” Certainly not, they said. “So why do you approve state-run radio and tv?”

The same applies to the BBC in Britain and NPB here. And Berlusconi has shown the way forward. All in all, the man’s got a million defects, but all in all I think he’s Europe’s best leader. Maybe that’s damning with faint praise, but there you have it. Eventually Italy will produce some new political talent, but we’re not there yet. Just ask Gianfranco Fini, who is the biggest loser in Tuesday’s dramatic events.

A word about Fini is in order: to his great credit, he led the Italian Right away from its post-war neofascist convictions to become a legitimate political player in Italy’s rough-and-tumble democracy, which was an important and perhaps even historic achievement. But his own political philosophy is best described as “Italian Gaullism;” a statist faith modeled on the 5th French Republic. Not surprising, therefore, that he has played second fiddle to Berlusconi, who shows respect and affection for the Italian electorate. Fini’s effort to bring down his longtime boss was not even presented as a campaign for serious policy changes, as can be seen from the Left’s eager support for his no-confidence proposal. It was a power play, and it failed, as it deserved. Fini had voted for the Berlusconi Government, and then tried to bring it down because he wanted to be Number One. And, as Machiavelli famously remarked, if you’re going to strike at the Prince you’d better kill him, because if you fail you’re going to come to grief. Fini’s days on the national political stage are undoubtedly few.

Bottom line: Until the new generation arrives, Berlusconi’s probably in office as long as he wishes.

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14 Comments, 13 Threads

1.
Horseradish

Maybe you can persuade Emanuele Ottolenghi to return to Italy and run for office:-)

I find it interesting Michael that those amongst the overpaid stenographers, as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the media, who were baying the loudest for the blood of Berlusconi, were the most understanding when during the Clinton Interregnum, stories of peccadilloes by Slick Willy made it to news wires.

You are right about the troubles facing Italy. When you look at its banks, pension plans, and whatnot that have invested in sovereign bonds of countries that have to offer higher rates of interest than other countries, for buyers to buy their sovereign bonds (not to mention the mortgage backed securities that Michael Lewis wrote about in “The Big Short”), Berlusconi has his hands full.

Frankly when you have writers over in the business section of the Telegraph writing about when the Euro collapses (which is a different tune than earlier this year when the topic was “if the Euro collapses”), Rome is sitting pretty to be a major player in an amalgam that includes the Iberian Peninsula, France, Slovenia,
Montenegro and Croatia. They can work with the corridor that goes from Greece to Estonia, to set things right in Albania, Bosnia-Hercegovina, and Macedonia (and make the Serbs less paranoid about Kosovo, for they view that patch of land the same way Americans view the first 13 states of the union), and both amalgams will be working with a revamped Commonwealth.

Just a few additions. If Berlusconi bribed some opposition parliamentary deputies to vote for him yesterday, it would be part of a long tradition of Italian politics as Paolo Mieli of Corriere della Sera pointed out yesterday on Ballaro. The last politician to have done so was none other than the former post-Communist Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema in 1999. Bribing deputies according to Mieli goes back to the late 1800s when Italy’s parliament was first created. Of course, when the left does it, it is acceptable; when the right does it, it is an outrage.

Fini’s attempt to present himself as a liberal (in the sense of free markets) reformer was not only undermined by his Gaullist intonations but also by his Freedom and Liberty colleagues most of whom are disciples of Pino Rauti, a rather unreformed neo-fascist who sees Berlusconi as a plutocrat rather than as undemocratic. The vast majority of Fini’s more moderate colleagues from the AN and MSI remained steadfastly loyal to Berlusconi.

Though I agree that Berlusconi deserves far more positive treatment than he has ever received in the MSM, for free-market liberals Berlusconi has been a huge disappointment because he has failed to make any real effort to liberalize an economy that continues to be suffocated by the heavy weight of its feudal shackles, even if at times it seems as if it is controlled by formers commissars of a Soviet-style state. Of course, not many Italians of either the right or the left favor such liberalization, and in that sense Berlusconi’s policies reflect the popular will.

Yes, Michael, indeed Mr. Berlusconi is Europe’s best leader even he is the best in the West. Despite a few mistakes of Mr. Berlusconi, but Mr. Berlusconi remains something very very special, both in his positive and negative qualities.
Mr. Berlusconi remains a very very rare man in the West in comparison with the sanctimonious western leaders. He is a courageous man and a successful and beloved of pretty women But the most annoying thing to me is “his embrace to one of the terror masters in Middle East “the mad leader, Muammar Gaddafi”, but doubtless this is run above all for Italy interests…While his opponents and enemies at home and abroad hating him is not the least of, which is jealousy over his wealth, his fame, and his success
In my mind, Berlusconi always means Italy, and Italy means Berlusconi! So, on this wonderful forum I can only say “God Bless Berlusconi and Bless that Great country, Italy.”

His most remarkable ability is to strike a balance between holding such a prestigious position in politics and carrying on a number of different business activities. Being successful on both fronts Berlusconi is a unique example in today’s politics.

What you see in Italy with Berlusconi,is a person who “stands by what they say” ,He stands by what he feels and says and believes. He is a MAN of huge proportions ,and I’m not talking of his girth. He stands by Israel,when it is not politically correct to do so.He is a man of his word. Not ,like the little ,left leaning, politically correct,lemmings that are in Europe today.Berlusconi is able to back Israel and look after himself ,all at the same time looking confident and secure in the knowledge that most people applaud his manner,even though they don’t say it in public.
Let’s face it…He is one of a few REAL MEN left in Europe.Britain has fallen,France is still holding on,and Russia is even there,but the rest I’m afraid are too scared of “what might others think” syndrome.

I’m surprised that anyone would be barracking for one of the most blatantly corrupt leaders in western europe, simply because he hails from the right.

It’s fairly ridiculous to compare clinton’s shenanigans with berlusconi’s record. If clinton did half the stuff silvio did, he wouldn’t have just been impeached – he’d have been imprisoned. Try to keep in mind that what he was impeached for was lying about a fling with an intern. Not bribing cops and judges, not changing laws to stop criminal suits against him, not hiring mafiosi as a favour, not avoiding tax or embezzling money. Berlusconi is a whole other class of miscreant. Thank god (or whatever) that he’s not running YOUR country.

Well with the exception of # 11 Matthew who repeats ad nauseam the accusations of the sanctimonious European & UK media I am surprised to note that first the author of the article and the comments are so pro Berlusconi. Berlusconi as a good Italian loves good life and all the attachments thereof. A minority of voters in Italy hate his guts that even at 74 he is capable to live the life he is living but the majority they enjoy it and support him. In addition contrary to what the British press is clamouring he is the only Prime Minister that did not fall after 6 to 12 months and completed his term if I am correct twice. Not only, when Prodi came back to try to destroy Italy as all Italian politicians (with the exception of Berlusconi) did and lasted only some eight to nine months Berlusconi won by landslide another election. So Matthew may I please ask you to go and check your records again. Oh as for the law cases Italy is the only country in Europe with the most corrupt and still comunist justice system.

It must be notedthat Berlusconi lost against Prodi only because his allies (now ex-allies) didn’t helped him before the elections.
They ended the legislature trying to distinguish themselves from him (taking votes from him).
After they lost (only 20.000 votes of difference at the Chamber, nationwide), they started to ask for Berlusconi to step down as a leader of the Center-Right. And Berlusconi, after a year, lost patience and gave the “discorso del predellino” in an improvised talk from his car Milan to his supporters.
Fini and Casini were told, “you support me now and join with me in the new party the people want we form together, or you stay out of it”.
They initially responded telling he was at the last of his career. But the Center-Left government fell without warnings, so they fond themselves out of their alliance with Berlusconi and with an election coming. Casini refuse any agreement with Berlusconi and now it is with the opposition (but distinguish himself from the Left). Fini accepted to melt his party with Forza Italia and run together Berlusconi in the new Popolo delle Libertà list.

At the time I was for an electoral list “witout Fini and without Casini”, jocking with the fact that:
1) Fini can be translated in “motives” like in “without second motives”.
2) Casini can be traslated in “messes” or “massage parlors”